Margaret Erlanger was an accomplished professor, dancer, and learner. Erlanger was a Professor of Dance at the University of Illinois from 1948 to 1974, and believed in the power of learning through experience. With that, she began an artist-in-residence program, bringing hired professional artists as faculty and guests to the University. As a Fulbright scholar, she traveled to New Zealand and took a sabbatical to Japan. There, she met Shōzō Satō, a dancer and artist. It is this connection that led to the development of Japan House near campus today with the help of Jack Baker.

Left, Margaret Erlanger, 1970s

Erlanger saw dance as much more than physical exercise, but as an art and mode of expression. At this point, only ten universities in the United States offered a bachelor's degree in dance. With other dance instructors at the University of Illinois, Erlanger advocated for an autonomous dance department within the School of Fine and Applied Arts. In 1968, the Department of Dance was created, right around the time the Krannert Center for Performing Arts was constructed.

Right, Margaret Erlanger teaching University of Otago School of Education students in ANZAC Square, Dunedin, 1953. Courtesy of Annette Golding

Sources:

University of Illinois full biography of Margaret Erlanger

The First Dancing Fulbrighter to Visit New Zealand

History - Department of Dance at Illinois

Jack Baker (United States, 1920–2013), Plan for the Margaret Erlanger House, 1964. Landscape plan. Ink on paper. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives, record series 12/2/38, box 24, folder 20.

Interview at the Margaret Erlanger House with Jan Erkert, Pamela Ibsen Bedford, Patricia Knowles, and Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, December 2024.

Four dancers who knew or were inspired by the legacy of the Margaret Erlanger House gathered in the conversation pit at her home to discuss Erlanger, the architecture of the house, and the cultural milieu of Champaign-Urbana in the 1960s through the 1980s, including performances at the Jack Baker Loft.

Directed by Jon L. Seydl, produced by Rachel Lauren Storm, videography by Tori Beach. Running time 16:33 minutes.

Shōzō Satō during his artist residency at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, c. 1960s

Shōzō Satō and Margaret Erlanger met during Erlanger's visit to Japan in the 1960s. She watched him teach dance, and invited him to the university, where he arrived in 1964. In the 1970s, Satō began to experiment with traditional Japanese kabuki theatre and western dramas, blending them into "fusion kabuki." His first fusion kabuki was Kabuki Macbeth in 1978, where he represented the Shakespearean characters in kabuki style. Satō practiced many forms of art, including sumi-e (ink painting), traditional calligraphy, and ikebana (flower arranging).

Satō and Japanese culture evidently influenced Margaret Erlanger's aesthetics and artistic practice, with Satō helping design the private gardens and fire pit of her home. With the help of architect Jack Baker, they would create Japan House, where the community could learn tea ceremony and other Japanese arts.

Shōzō Satō and kabuki actor, 1969

Sources:

News Gazette article - My Campus: Dance Department Head Jan Erkert

Note the lack of windows at the facade. This home was designed with privacy in mind, combining the interior with an enclosed courtyard to provide ample light without sacrificing solitude.